


Safe in the Dark

by CynicallyInclined



Series: In The Dark [1]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Marble Hornets, Slender Man Mythos
Genre: 50th Hunger Games, Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, Kinda, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Medication, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Quarter Quell, Slow Build, idk - Freeform, one sided Alex/Jay, one-sided Brian/Tim - Freeform, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-05-17 06:41:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5858332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CynicallyInclined/pseuds/CynicallyInclined
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Everything is over. It's all over. What I want, now? To be able to feel safe in the dark again. But we can't always get what we want."</p>
<p>There are some things Jay cannot handle, and some things he did not expect. Being drawn as Tribute in the Hunger Games, and having to fight to the death, against his only friend? Yeah, that definitely qualifies for both.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Safe in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't seen this anywhere, and I thought it'd be a pretty fun thing to write. To make this work, I had to fiddle with their ages quite a bit, Jay is 15, Alex is 16, and Tim and Brian are 17. Sorry, I kinda had to for this to work. Also, this takes place during the second Quarter Quell. Obviously, with Haymitch having won the 50th Games, I'm gonna have to fiddle a little more in the future. Also, this is my first published story, so any constructive criticism is welcome.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you all enjoy~

The first rays of sunlight streamed through the window, falling in cracked patterns over short, messy brown hair and tired hazel eyes, mattress screeching as bones and flesh weighted with dread rearranging until the tall, thin boy to which they belonged was sitting, his blanket slipping quietly off of his body. The rotting wood groaned underneath his feet as he stood-he winced at the noise, eyes flicking to his friend sleeping in a bed just a few feet away. Walking slowly to their closet to prepare for the day, the familiar sense of dread made its home in his body. 

Today. 

Today was the day.

The day that would shape his whole existence, or it wouldn't, and it would be virtually indistinguishable from the rest of the Reapings.

Well, not really. Not very many people would be able to forget a Quarter Quell. Last Quell, the Tributes were nominated by those in their District. This Quell, double the amount of Tributes would be drawn.  
Double his chances of being chosen. 

In only three more years, he would never have to worry over whether or not he would have the misfortune of being chosen to march to his death. In only three more years, he would be safe from the Games. 

In the eyes of the world, his peers, his friends, he'd never amount to much. Get a factory job, marry a woman that perhaps he loved and perhaps he did not, have a few children, and die. When they tried to imagine the future of their friend, this is all that they could see. 

He, himself, however, stubbornly disagreed. 

That was a future that he could not-would not-live.

Perhaps the world, his peers, his friends, were right. Perhaps they were not. Perhaps we may never know. 

He had goals for himself, he didn't want to live the life everyone saw for him.

He had dreams, too. Dreams bigger than himself. 

He wanted to buy proper tombstones for his family- his old one, anyways- and take care of his new family. His misfit, mismatched family, made entirely of him, Alex and his mother. And then, maybe one day, he would find himself a wife, or a husband, perhaps, if that was what he decided he wanted. He tried not to think of such things very often, though. It gave him headaches, such as the one that was invading his head now. 

He jumped as a cool hand came to rest on his shoulder, tensing as he turned to look at whoever interrupted his inner musings, and relaxing again.

The figure gave him a weak smile, an attempt to be reassuring, trying to come off as if he had not a worry in the world. 

"You okay, Jay? You zoned out and have been staring into the closet for awhile now." Huh. He hadn't even heard him get up.

"Yeah, Alex, I'm fine. Just didn't get any sleep is all." His smile, which he intended to reassure his friend, was tense and visibly forced. Jay was never a good liar. 

Jay pretended not to notice his friends hand lingering on his shoulder a moment longer than it should have.

He knew full and well how Alex felt about him-not that he had said it outright- but, like the emotionally wrecked teen he was, he ignored it, planning on dealing with it whenever he could figure out how. He doubted he'd ever figure out how to talk to him about it. 

It wasn't that there was anything particularly wrong with Alex. He was physically attractive, and he was a good guy, generally speaking, and he's done enough for Jay that he would never be able to make it up to him in his lifetime, but Jay just...never felt that Alex was the one he wanted to spend his life with, not in the way that Alex wanted, at least. He would love for his best friend to be with him until the end, but as just that-a best friend.

Alex sighed, his smile melting away. "Guess we should get ready, eh? You know what today is."

Jay shook his head, glancing back towards their closet.

"Why should we dress for the slaughter? I mean, if we don't get picked, then who's gonna notice? And if we do...well, we're already dead men walking, so what will it matter?"

His friend sighed, shaking his head with a dry chuckle.

"That's...a very Jay thing to say. C'mon, let's just leave then. Like you said, it's not gonna matter."

Jay nodded, sitting down to quickly slip on his boots, Alex following his lead.

As they were walking out the door, Alex stopped in his tracks, turning his head to look at Jay, who almost just ran straight into him.

"Maybe we should just run away together. Like in the books we used to read." 

Jay laughed uncomfortably. He knew it wasn't a joke, but maybe, just maybe, he would be wrong.

Alex frowned, turning fully to face him. "I'm not kidding, Jay; let's run away."

He wasn't.

Jay shook his head, his uncomfortable laughter fading away.

"We'd have nowhere to go."

Alex paused, and they both knew what Jay said was wrong. There was the woods bordering their district, if they could ever get past the fence. They'd never survive there, anyways. You never know what sorts of strange creatures call the woods their home.

"Yeah, Jay, you're probably right. Let's go."

 

It was a very long time-for the boys, at least-until it was time for the Reaping to begin. It wasn't just the minuets passing that made waiting unbearable, it was the ax held high, the guillotine a breath away from taking off the heads of the unlucky four who were going to be chosen. 

Jay shoved his hands into his pockets nervously, trying in vain to look over the heads of the others in his age group, hoping to be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of his friend for some vague, fleeting sense of reassurance. Luck, however, was not on his side today.

The Capitol Escort gave the silent crowd a large, excited smile, the jewels of her gaudy outfit catching the light, shining in the eyes of the nervous, silent crowd. 

"As you all know, this year is our second Quarter Quell," The Escort said, her high voice and strange accent bringing back Jays headache from earlier. 

At the lack of reaction, the Escort took a deep breath, her smile faltering.

"As tradition goes, ladies first!" It unnerved Jay how genuinely excited the odd woman sounded.

The silence in that moment was deafening.


End file.
